


can i try again

by SailorMustang



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Abed in LA, Abed: let's go lesbians let's go, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, More pairings to tag later but it's mostly trobed, Post-Canon, Troy comes back, Very minor past character death mention in ch5
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24484831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorMustang/pseuds/SailorMustang
Summary: Five years after the end of the show, Abed's moving on and living his best life when Troy unexpectedly shows up again.
Relationships: Andre Bennett/Shirley Bennett, Frankie Dart/Original Female Character, Jeff Winger/Amber, Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 40
Kudos: 146





	1. Chapter 1

Abed watched the dark blue call screen expectantly. One by one, they joined the video call: Britta, Annie, Shirley, and Jeff.

"Hi guys!" "Hello!"

The usual chorus of high-pitched greetings ensued.

"How is everybody doing?" asked Shirley once the initial buzz had settled down.

"Pretty great, actually," said Britta. "I adopted another cat! He's the sweetest. I'm learning to knit so I can make him a little cat sweater."

"Don't tell me he's one of those hairless cats," said Jeff. "I mean, you're always drawn to the ugliest animals, so I wouldn't be shocked."

"What does that say about my taste in men, Winger?"

"Self-burn," cut in Abed.

"And I would never buy a purebred cat, are you insane? Kropawtkin was one of the most at-risk cats in the shelter."

"Okay, shoot. What's wrong with it?" replied Jeff.

"For your information, Jeff, he is hairless, but it's because he has a condition."

Everyone grimaced on cue. "Called it," said Jeff smugly.

"Well, what else is going on with you? How's Colorado State?" asked Annie.

"Thank you, Annie," said Britta pointedly. "It's actually amazing. I'm one step closer to being a therapist, guys! In seven or eight years, I'll officially be Doctor Perry!"

"God help us," snarked Jeff, earning himself matching glares from Shirley and Annie.

"And I reconnected with Rick. We're giving things another shot."

"Subway Rick? Isn't that the guy who was obsessed with selling sandwiches and Hondas?" asked Jeff skeptically.

"Yes, but he's finally working on his issues. I think we could finally have a shot at a healthy relationship!"

"That's nice, Britta!" said Shirley. "It's always good to give people a second chance. Or third chance."

Britta hesitated. "Speaking of which, how is, uh-"

"Andre and I are doing well, thank you. His stereo business is doing better here in Louisiana, and he's being much more supportive of my catering company." She lowered her voice. "I don't want this to leave this group, but this time we decided to forgo talking to our pastor and see a family therapist instead. I still don't trust therapy above than the Lord, of course, but I really want things to work this time. There's no point in renewing our vows again if the underlying issues are still there."

"That sounds like a very healthy outlook," said Britta approvingly. "How about you, Annie? Any news?"

"Kind of! I don't want to jinx it, but I'm up for a big promotion." She beamed at the group's chorus of congratulations. "Thanks, guys! It would mean more travel and more flexibility with - well, everything! I'm really excited."

"What's the FBI like? Is it like on TV? Follow up question: do you want to collaborate on a screenplay about it?" asked Abed.

"Well, I can't really talk about it that much. It's not at all like on TV and yet, kind of like it at the same time? It's hard to explain." She smiled a little mistily. "Aww, I miss you guys so much. Sometimes I wish we could all be back at Greendale together."

Abed smiled wanly. They can't go back. "How is Greendale these days, Jeff?"

"Oh, it's very much still Greendale. We almost got shut down last month because of something called 'extra toxic hallucinogenic mold,' but Frankie, Lapari, and the janitor cabal saved the day. So, a normal Tuesday."

"Oh, Frankie! How is she?" asked Annie.

"Frankie's great. She and her girlfriend just got engaged, so keep an eye out for your save the dates. I'm sure they'll be absurdly punctual."

"A wedding reunion episode would be fun. Maybe even juicy enough to spin off into a movie," mused Abed. He tried to swallow down the bubble of hope that rose in his chest. "Do you ever see anyone else from back then?"

"Yeah, I get drinks with Craig and Kevin at the Vatican every Thursday."

"I legitimately can't tell whether you're being sarcastic or not," said Annie. "And who's Craig? You mean, the Dean?"

"He's not being sarcastic, I still work that shift just so I can witness it," said Britta.

Jeff laughed. "Yeah, I'm actually being completely serious. They're both crazy, but we're actually... friends."

"Afterwards, Chang and the Dean go to a gay club, and Jeff goes home early. I'm serious too!" added Britta.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I'm a 46 year old man who's mature enough to admit that he shouldn't go clubbing on a Thursday night. You definitely made me sound like a real loser there," smirked Jeff. "Okay, who else has life updates? Abed?"

"Yeah, how's LA?" chimed in Shirley.

"It's cool. Work is good. Did any of you watch any of the new season of Cool Girl?"

There was a long pause. Abed recognized that everyone was feeling either uncomfortable or hungry.

"Sorry, no. Things have been crazy at work," said Annie.

"Same here. Between starting a new business and taking care of the boys..."

"...had a big essay due..."

"...grading," finished Jeff.

"Okay," said Abed.

"We're really sorry, Abed," said Annie, entering the early stages of the Disney face.

"Don't worry about it. Millions of people watched it, which is pretty cool."

Everyone still looked guilty.

"Seriously, don't worry about it. I want to share what I make with you guys because you're important to me, but it's TV. It will still be there when you have time to watch it." He smiled carefully to show them that he wasn't hurt.

"Yeah, I recorded it! I'm really looking forward to watching it when I'm less busy," said Annie.

"Speaking of being busy, I have to go pick up the kids from their grandma's. Talk to you guys in two weeks?" said Jeff.

"Ooh, sorry, I'm catering the church picnic that weekend. How about a weekday?"

"Can't, I have classes and weekday shifts at the bar. What about the weekend after that?"

"I have a forensics conference in Berlin then."

"How about -"

"Should we just schedule it in the group chat?" cut in Jeff. "Sorry, guys, but I really have to go."

There was a general murmur of assent.

"Okay, see you guys soon."

"It was nice catching up!"

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

Everyone waved at their webcams with the frantic energy of trying to pack affection into a gesture, including Abed. Then the video feed disappeared and he was left facing a dark blue screen again, until he clicked out of the call.

It was almost lunchtime. The study group had to do their group calls pretty early in pacific time, to accomodate Annie and Shirley on the east coast.

Abed still had a couple of minutes before he had to meet Megan for sushi, so he stopped for a matcha latte on the way. He knew his younger, Greendale self would be annoyed at the pretentiousness of it, but the foamy green drink made him feel like a sci fi character.

Megan waved him over to her table. She was still wearing yoga pants from her morning workout. "Hey, Abed. How was your call thingy?"

Normally they would just order in sushi at the apartment, but they started a tradition of going out after Abed's study group calls because they usually put him in an antsy mood.

"Hey Megan. It was cool. Everyone's doing good. Britta's getting back together with her ex, which isn't amazing. They've already tried to go out twice, so I don't know why this time will be different."

"People change. What about, uh, Shirley? She's trying with her ex for a third time, right?"

"Yeah, but Andre is Shirley's status quo. Her rock. They fight, but they get back together. Britta's status quo is being single and chaotic. Rick was a minor guest character at best, but she keeps bringing him back."

Megan touched his arm gently. "Yeah, but he's not a character to Britta, right? He's a guy that she has a complicated relationship with."

Abed exhaled. "Yeah. You're right. I don't know why I go back to the TV analogy so much after talking to the study group. I guess because I leaned on it more back then? Very, uh, season one of me." He smiled to show he was joking.

Megan didn't smile back. "Do you think the calls are kind of unhealthy for you? Not judging, just curious."

Abed considered this. "I don't think so," he said slowly. "I know who I am now. I thought I did back then, but I have a more evolved idea now. Or maybe I've just changed. The group reminds me of a different time, but they can't bring us back in time." He fiddled with his chopsticks and a fleck of wasabi. "Everyone's always too busy too call. It's really hard to schedule, and then we can only talk briefly before someone has to go. I'm always the one who schedules things. I know that friendship takes work, but I feel like I'm always the one working at it."

"Then why do you work at it? I don't really get what was so magical about that group."

"Okay, it's like. Imagine the Greendale study group was a TV show. It was a really good TV show, and I was really happy being a part of it. Then things got weird in later seasons, as they do. People - characters left. Things got kind of stagnant for me, so I moved to LA. I started a spin off show - Abed in LA, the big city, writing comedy, drinking fancy lattes, and eating sushi with Megan. It's a really good show too, and I'm happy. It's just weird to think about that other show I was on. I miss it - I miss them. But I like talking to them."

Megan nodded slowly. "I get it. You care about them." She paused. "I just wish... You said the Abed show was a spin off. Maybe you shouldn't think of your individuality as a spin off? You get to decide what your story's about. Maybe the Study Group Show was good, but it was just one part of your story. You can decide who you collaborate with," she shrugged.

"That's a good way of thinking about it, I think," agreed Abed. "I don't know if my life is interesting enough to be a TV show though. Maybe... a slice of life anime."

Megan snorted. "You would be so amazing as an anime character. All the girls would stan."

"I am pretty adorable. That was a good speech by the way. Almost a Winger speech."

"I don't know what that means and I don't need to."

"Hey, when we're done with lunch, can I do the 'hey... thanks' bit, like in They Came Together?"

"Sure, buddy."

When they're done eating, Abed stood up and turned as if to leave, then turned around and puts a hand on Megan's shoulder. "Hey Megan... thanks."

"Of course, Abed," she said sincerely.

Abed started to leave for real.

"Oh and Abed."

"What?"

She set a hand heavily on his shoulder. "Thanks."

"Any time."

Outside the restaurant, Abed mightily resisted the urge to say 'thanks' again. Megan appreciated his pop culture humor, but she didn't have the same level of commitment to a bit.

"Alright, I'm heading back to the apartment. Do you want to walk together?" asked Megan.

"No, I think I'm going to go to the Broad. I have major writer's block on my screenplay, so some inspiration might be good."

"Okay. If you end up going to the store, we're out of peanut butter."

Abed nodded and set off down the street. It was a longish walk downtown, but his head was still full from talking to the study group. A few blocks from the museum, he almost bumped directly into a guy who was standing stock still right in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Sorry," he mumbled, trying to get around.

"Abed?"

Abed froze.

It was Troy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short and angsty but I promise there's a better chapter coming up

"Abed."

It was definitely him. Tall, slim, wearing a soft t-shirt and hoodie. Abed, like he had just walked out of the Greendale library.

"Troy. Holy shit."

"Yeah, it's me! It's you! Shit."

Troy pulled Abed into a hug. As soon as he did it, it felt inexorable. His warmth, his soft shirt, the hard plane of his chest, his hands slowly coming to rest on Troy's back, his fresh laundry smell. It felt like coming home.

They broke apart, and Troy let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head, feeling off-balance. He realized they were standing in the middle of a crowded street.

"Shit, Abed. It's been forever."

"Six years," said Abed promptly.

"Oh man, really? Uh, do you want to go somewhere and talk? Like, Starbucks or something?" Troy's flailing mind grasped Starbucks as a place that's always nearby in any city.

"Okay."

Abed started walking, so Troy followed.

Troy had no idea what Abed was feeling, but personally he couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. It was Abed.

Five minutes later, he was sitting at a corner table with Abed, with no recollection whatsoever of what he ordered. He couldn't stop himself from staring - drinking in everything about his old friend. He felt a weird kind of dizzy happiness that he hasn't felt in years, the kind that he associated with eating sugary cereal and watching action movies with his best friend.

"How the fuck have you been, man? You look great."

"Do I?" Abed started methodically shredding a brown paper napkin.

"I mean, you look the same. Like you always did in college. But it's, uh, good."

"You have a beard. And your hair is longer."

Troy touched his scruff and laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."

There was a very long silence. Troy bit his lip. Abed's face was dangerously blank, and he was still working on the napkin in front of him like a hamster making bedding.

"Where were you? For six years."

Troy's smile faltered. "It's a long story."

"Okay, go."

"Well, you remember Pierce gave me that mission, to sail around the world. Lavar and I -"

"You didn't have phone access?"

"No. We didn't have phones on the boat. Lavar had a radio for emergencies, but -"

"So you just got back? You and Lavar Burton just docked off Marina del Rey, and this is your first time coming ashore in six years? Got delayed?"

Troy winced. "No. I mean, yes, the trip took way longer than a year, but I finished a while ago."

"Okay. So you got kidnapped by the mafia, you just escaped, and this is your first day of freedom."

"No."

"You had amnesia and you couldn't remember me."

"No, Abed."

"Then what? You just didn't want to talk to me for six years?" Abed wasn't shouting, but every word was hitting Troy like a blow. "I have to go. I can't deal with... whatever this is." He stood up, gesturing vaguely at Troy. "For all I know, I've really gone crazy and you're a hallucination or a dream or something. That seems more realistic. I've missed - missed you, even if you haven't missed me." He walked out, deadly calm but radiating quiet anger.

Troy faltered for a moment, then went after him.

"Abed, wait!"

He caught up to him right outside the door. Abed stopped, but he wouldn't make eye contact.

"Don't go. I won't know how to find you again," he blurted.

Abed smiled dryly and started walking again.

"Abed, I'm serious! I don't use the internet anymore, or have a cell phone. It was random chance that I ran into you today, and I don't know how to make lightning strike twice. Give me some way to find you. Please."

Abed stopped abruptly, and Troy nearly walked into his back.

"You were out there somewhere, and you weren't looking for me. I don't see why today has to change anything." He started walking again, and Troy was so dumbstruck that he let him disappear into the crowd.

Well. Shit.


	3. Chapter 3

A week later, Abed was starting to regret his decision to walk away.

His memory of that afternoon was fogged up with shock and anger, which were not emotions he was used to dealing with. He still wasn't completely sure the encounter had even happened. Maybe he was still off-balance from his call with the study group, and it was a weird dream or something.

It didn't feel like a dream though. In his dreams, Abed wasn't mad at Troy. He had a really good explanation for his absence, or everything was fine and he'd never left. And Troy always looked exactly like he had at Greendale, which Abed had never had cause to question until today. If anything, he would have imagined Troy with a cyborg arm or a laser eye or something. Not chiseled muscles and a beard.

Whatever that afternoon was, it definitely wasn't helping with his writer's block. It was Saturday again and Abed was lying in bed and staring at his laptop screen, feeling profoundly uncreative. He knew that what he had so far was shit - that was what first drafts were for, getting the idea onto a page, no matter how messy and half-baked. He didn't know how to fix it, or what the third act should be.

There was a knock at the door, and Megan poked her head in. "Uh, Abed? You have a visitor."

Abed slowly shut his laptop. "Who?"

"I don't know him." She bit her cheek thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes. "Is he your ex? He's hot."

Abed exhaled sharply. "I don't think so."

"Maybe an overzealous actor trying to get your attention? Are you casting a cute buff Black guy for anything?"

"It's Troy."

Megan's eyes went wide. "Oh, shit. That Troy?"

Abed nodded. He'd only told Megan about Troy once, after they'd been friends for a few years. They had a tacit no-Troy-mentions policy. Which was usually pretty easy to follow without the Group around.

"Did you know he was back?"

"I ran into him last week by chance. He must have found my address."

Megan frowned. "Shit, I already kinda confirmed that you live here. Clingy exes are no joke; I'll get rid of him."

Abed nodded, but followed her quietly to the common area and stood just out of sight of the front door.

"Abed isn't here," said Megan coolly.

Abed could hear the faint sounds of a song coming from the hallway. Peter Gabriel?

"Oh, okay," said Troy. "Is there, uh, a better time I can come back? I really need to talk to him."

"I don't think that's a good idea. He doesn't want to talk to you."

"Oh god," groaned Troy. "I really, really messed up. Like, profoundly messed up."

"Yeah, that much is obvious."

"Can you please at least give him this number? Tell him I got a phone."

"I don't think that's a good -"

"It's okay, Megan," said Abed softly, turning the corner.

Megan was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed like a bouncer, using all five feet of her height to maximum effect. Troy was in the hallway, holding an old-fashioned boombox playing "In Your Eyes."

"Abed!" Troy smiled sheepishly at him and raised the boombox halfheartedly. "Say Anything," he clarified unnecessarily.

"Cool."

"I didn't know how else to apologize."

Abed turned to his roommate. "It's okay, Megan."

She shot one last glare at Troy and went inside, to her room.

Abed turned back to Troy. "You can turn the music off now."

Troy pushed a button, then awkwardly set down the boombox.

Abed nodded to it. "Did you buy that just for this bit?"

"Yeah, I did. It's pretty sweet though, right? It's got old school cassette decks."

"And you bought a phone?"

Troy swallowed. "Yeah, I did. It's just a land line, but... I want to talk to you. Whenever you're ready." Cautiously, he held out a scrap of paper with a number written on it in sharpie. Abed took it, and Troy visibly relaxed a bit.

"How did you find me?"

"I caved and used a library computer to look you up. It's crazy what you can find online these days."

"Look. I'm not good at this - being mad, emotional nuance, subtle facial expressions. I'm not forgiving you, but... if you want to talk, that might be okay."

Troy didn't smile, but his face suddenly looked like it was glowing. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Is, uh, is now good? I can go if -"

"Now is fine." Abed stepped back and gestured vaguely. "Come in."

Abed sat in the comfy chair he'd brought from Colorado and let Troy take the squashy purple couch. It was beyond weird to have Troy in his apartment. Abed couldn't tear his eyes away, like Troy would vanish if he looked at anything else for too long.

"So, you don't use the internet. Why?"

Troy looked relieved at this new line of questioning. "Well, it was super weird being on the boat and having no technology except for the emergency radio. Lavar and I did a lot of talking. And card playing. And talking. It's basically impossible to idolize a guy after spending all your time with him for months and months. I don't really idolize anyone anymore, except - well anyway. It was basically a total technology detox. No phone, no TV, no Clive Owen tumblr. I thought I was going to lose my mind sometimes except that, well, I didn't. I was totally fine, aside from being bored out of my mind occasionally. I realized how weird it was - I was idolizing Lavar because of TV shows, but I had the actual guy with me, and I barely knew him at all as an actual person. Until we got to know each other. And then we had this deep bond, and I was like, I never would have gotten to know him that well just through TV or the internet." He shrugged. "That stuff just doesn't really feel as important to me now. And then later I spent some time in an ashram in Tibet, no phones again, and I decided the internet wasn't going to be part of my life anymore." He smiled wryly. "I never regretted it until I ran into you. I had to find you again."

Abed rolled his eyes. "So you had your own My Dinner with Andre moment. You know, you're not better because you don't have a smartphone. And it's obviously a huge inconvenience if, you know, people are trying to contact you."

Troy looked hurt. "I don't think I'm better than anyone. And there's plenty of reasons not to have one. I don't get my personal data constantly tracked, and my life and connections have been perfectly fulfilling without tech."

Abed rolled his eyes again but decided to drop it for now. He wasn't sure why this information was like a little thorn of hurt. He could probe at it later, once he was alone.

"What happened after you left Greendale? Catch me up on the past six years."

Troy lit up again. "Oh, it was amazing, man. And crazy. So first - well, the trip was supposed to take a year, but it actually took more like two years to follow the path Pierce had mapped out for us. We kept stopping to hang out at different places."

"Like where?"

"Everywhere. Vancouver, Bangkok, Istanbul, Cape Town, Venice. And we got delayed a lot too. We hit some serious storms off the Horn of Africa... Anyway, the last stop on our planned route was Acapulco, to fulfill the terms of the will. Lavar had to get back to his life, so I dropped him off there, and sold enough of Pierce's stock to get some more travel money."

"You didn't want to go home too?"

"No. I mean, I got a ton out of those years, but I still felt like I hadn't learned whatever lesson Pierce wanted me to learn, or fully become my own person."

"So what next?"

"Lavar and me had a lot of fun in Tokyo, so I decided to sail back there and just kinda see what happened. I ended up living there for another two years, give or take a couple months."

"Do you speak Japanese now?"

Troy laughed. "Yup. I'm fluent, and I'm not even a weeaboo."

"What did you do there? Did you work?"

"No, not really. I just lived off Pierce's inheritance and, like, chilled. I looked at art, ate sushi, took a couple classes at Toh Oh, and just kinda talked to people. A lot of people."

"So then you went to Tibet?"

"Yeah, I was kind of done with the big city after that, and I wanted to get back to nature? So I went to this ashram with a couple of my friends. It was super intense. I lived there for a couple of months."

"That's very Eat Pray Love of you."

Troy laughed again. "Yeah, I guess. It was kind of weird because, like, I was the only Black person there? And I was usually the only Black person in a room when I was in Asia. I got kind of weird and soul-searchy about like, where did my family come from? I mean, Boulder, obviously, but before that? And I probably won't ever know, but I decided to get back on the Childish Tycoon and go to Lagos. I just kinda randomly picked it off a map, but I had a super fun time. I lived there for like a year."

"And now you speak -"

"Yoruba, yeah." He smiled. "After that I was kinda done with big cities again, so I sold the boat and went on a solo hiking retreat in Norway. It kinda helped me work through some of my unresolved issues with trolls? Trolls are big there."

Abed was sneakily counting the years by tapping his fingers on his thigh. "And that was six years?"

"Just about, I think. I got the urge to be alone in the wilderness well out of my system, so I thought it might be fun to come back to the States."

"Why LA?"

Troy looked at the ground. "Why not? It's a big city. Plenty of interesting stuff going on."

"How long have you been here?"

"About a month, I think."

A month. Abed wasn't sure what was weirder - the thought of Troy being in far-away countries for six years, or the same city for a month without Abed.

"Do you have an apartment?"

"Yeah, in Hollywood. You should come see it sometime." Troy leaned forward. "What about you, man? Catch me up."

"It's been pretty boring compared to all that," said Abed. "Change isn't really my deal. You said I look the same."

"Kinda. I mean, you do, but... more confident maybe." Troy shifted. "Was that girl your girlfriend?"

"Megan? She's my roommate. And my best friend. We work on the same TV show." Not really in the same way that Troy was Abed's best friend, but he didn't need to know that.

"So, not together?"

"Megan's a lesbian. She has a girlfriend named Stone."

"Oh! Gotchu."

Troy seemed weirdly happy about this news. Abed narrowed his eyes at him. "Why?"

"She just, uh, seems like kinda your type. And very protective."

Abed shrugged. "She's a protective friend."

"So, you work on a TV show? That's awesome," said Troy.

"Yeah, it's called Cool Girl."

"What's it about?"

"It's a sitcom. It's kind of a play on the idea of, like, the pressure that women feel to be 'cool girls' for the male gaze? So it's about this bartender in New York who has all the stereotypical 'cool girl' markers, but she doesn't just want to be some guy's manic pixie dream girl. And she has a quirky diverse friend group and a rocky love life, per the genre. It's pretty well-reviewed. We're on season three."

"That sounds really cool! I'll have to watch it. She sounds kinda like Britta."

Abed's mouth twitched. "Allie Bradshaw may or may not be loosely inspired by Britta Perry, at least for the parts of the show that I write."

"Oh man, how's Britta? I mean, do you still talk to anyone from back then."

"Sure. We all skyped literally right before I ran into you last week. Britta's good. She's getting her PhD at Colorado State so she can be a therapist, and she's back together with Rick apparently."

"Who? Do I know Rick?"

"Subway."

"Aw, Subway! I always thought they were cute together. What about Shirley? Are she and Andre still together?"

"Yeah. They broke up again but they're back together and they live in Louisiana now. Shirley was the private chef to an eccentric detective - major spinoff vibes - but she just started a catering company."

"Oh dang. Anyone else move away from Greendale?"

"Annie lives in DC. She's an FBI agent. Again, spinoff vibes."

"That's, like, crazy cool. And you're in LA making TV... shit, did anyone stay in Colorado?"

"Jeff did. He's a law professor at Greendale."

"And he was always the one who wanted to get out so bad. Don't tell me he settled down."

"Yup. He has a serious girlfriend and two kids."

"I guess knocking someone up is the only way he would ever settle down, huh?"

Abed tilted his head. "Actually, he and Amber were dating for two years before they decided to have kids. They just decided not to get married because Jeff had such a messed up experience with his parents' divorce. He thinks he and Amber can model a healthy relationship for their kids without being legally bound to each other."

"Well damn. I guess he really did change."

Abed looked at the ground. "We all have."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"I think-" "I'm sor-" Troy and Abed tried to speak at the same time.

"You," said Troy.

"I think that's enough talking for today."

"Oh. Okay, sure." Troy stood up and went to the door. Abed followed.

Troy hovered in the hallway, giving Abed puppy dog eyes. "You have my number?"

"Yup."

"Just - call me when you want to talk again. I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

"Okay."


	4. Chapter 4

Abed spent the week burying himself in his work. There was the new season of Cool Girl to start with the rest of the team, and any time he wasn't at work was spent working on his screenplay. His very frustrating screenplay. The only problem with distracting himself with his script (besides the continued utter lack of a third act) was that it was supposed to be a story about two friends going on a journey together, which kept inconveniently tugging his mind back to Troy.

"It's unfair," he complained to Megan. "I knew writing a buddy movie would make me think about Troy, but that was kinda the whole point. I thought I was ready to finally make my own movie."

Megan granced up from the stack of scripts she was viciously attacking with a red pen. She had a side hustle proofreading film students' projects. "I guess that's why it's kinda dangerous to base a movie off your emotional trauma. I wrote a short film about my ex back when I was their age," she said, waving the scripts, "and it was utter shit. It never saw the light of day and that's a fucking good thing, but it was good to get it out of my system, I guess. To get to the good stuff."

Abed grimaced. "That's fair. I made this movie about Jesus in college... never mind, it's too emb,.arrassing. Let's just say my Christian friend did me a huge favor by smashing up the footage."

Megan snorted. "Oh my god, you have to tell me that story one day."

"I don't think this is like that, though. I think - I think it's really good, aside from the fact that it's missing an ending. It's not about working through Troy leaving - that's what the last six years of my life have been. I really like writing TV. I just like writing. But to make a really great movie, you're supposed to feel passionate about the story you're telling. And the only thing that makes me feel such strong emotion is... him."

Megan fixed Abed with a look that he couldn't decifer.

"What is it?" he asked.

She picked up her pen again. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, man, but I think maybe you should put down the screenplay and call him."

Troy picked up the phone on the second ring. "Hello?" he said a bit breathlessly, trying not to sound like he's sprinted across the apartment.

"Troy?"

"Abed!" He couldn't stop the smile stealing across his face. "Wassup?" he asked, trying to retain some of his coolness.

"I can't work on my screenplay anymore right now so... hi."

"Hi." Troy had a sneaking suspicion that he sounded exactly as unreasonably giddy as he felt. "Uh, should I come over? Or maybe you can come over here, you haven't seen my apartment."

"Okay, I'll come to you," said Abed readily. "Hollywood, right?"

"Oh, ok, great! Uh, yeah." Troy gave him the address.

"Okay, I'll take the metro. See you soon."

Troy was a ball of nervous energy while waiting for Abed. He scooped laundry off the floor and fidgeted with stuff in the kitchen. He was debating whether he had enough time to bring out the vacuum when Abed buzzed.

When Abed got to the door, there was an awkward moment where Troy wanted to hug Abed but hesitated when he realized that might not be appropriate. They hadn't touched since Troy impulsively hugged Abed after first seeing him again.

Instead, Troy flourished awkwardly towards his apartment. "Welcome! Mi casa es su casa, amigo." He watched Abed's face anxiously.

Abed's dark eyes swept quickly over the room, seeming to drink everything in at once. His lack of outward expression could be mistaken for impassivity, but Troy knew the gears of his mind were turning quickly.

Abed pointed delicately towards the high ceiling and sloping full windows, where the ruby red sun was casting a soft glow over the neighboring rooftops. "This is a loft. You live in a loft?"

Troy smiled bashfully. "Pierce's inheritance. I mean, I have the money, so why not?"

Abed looked towards the sleek hardwood floors, the tasteful modern furniture. "It's very nice."

Troy rubbed the back of his neck. "It came furnished. I know it's a lot, and not really my style, but I just moved here and I didn't know what I was looking for. It's a short lease, so I might move when it runs out."

Abed drifted over to the huge tv. "Why move? This place is sick."

Troy grinned. "Yeah?"

"Shit, is that a Ms. Pacman machine? You have a Ms. Pacman machine?"

Troy laughed. "Yeah, man! Isn't it sick? I bought it in Japan and had it in storage until I moved here."

Abed glanced at him questioningly.

"Oh, absolutely!" He walked over to Abed. "Let's play two player."

Troy had finally beaten Abed eight out of fifteen when he realized it was fully dark outside and he was hungry.

"Do you want to stay for dinner? We can order something."

Abed shrugged. "Sure."

"Great! Korean?"

"If you're going to order Korean, you have to get it from this one place in Chinatown."

Abed whipped out his phone and started tapping at an app. Within an hour, the food had miraculously arrived.

The white styrofoam containers looked out of place on the fashionably assymetrical wooden table in the dining room Troy never used, so they camped out on the shag carpet in front of the windows. The city lights were winking neon colors out of the clear inky black night.

Troy groaned out loud when he bit into the honey garlic shrimp. "Holy shit. Has food tasted this good before? Like, ever?"

Abed snorted between bites of kimchi fried rice. "Haven't you, like, tried food all over the world?"

"Yeah, but I swear nothing has tasted this good. On God."

Abed gave him an amused smirk. Troy felt dizzy on it, like he'd just drunk a huge sip of champagne.

They continued eating in silence. Afterwards, Troy didn't know if he'd ever felt so sated. He leaned back against the back of the sofa, which was uncomfortable to sit on but surprisingly nice to lean against apparently. It reminded him of building a fort with Abed - hiding from the world, if only briefly.

He looked over at Abed. Abed was looking up at the sky.

"You can see so many stars from here," he said in an almost reverently hushed voice.

"Yeah," breathed Troy, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from his friend's dark silhouette.

"How is that even possible? We're in the middle of LA. You shouldn't be able to see this many stars."

"I'm..." Troy trailed off. He didn't want to shatter this shining moment.

Abed glanced at him, catching his eye. "You're what?"

"It's not important," he mumbled, vaguely embarrassed to have been caught staring.

"No, you seem upset. What is it?"

Troy took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't try harder to get in touch when I got back. I missed you like crazy, Abed. I missed you and I still didn't find whatever I was looking for." Unexpectedly, humiliatingly, hot tears started pricking at his eyes. "I feel like such a failure." Troy squeezed his eyes shut so Abed wouldn't be blurred by the tears that were trying to find a way to course down his cheeks.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and leaned gratefully into the touch.

"You're not a failure," said Abed quietly.

Troy sniffled morosely.

"You had to come back. It was the homing pigeon DNA."

Troy smiled tremulously, still squeezing his eyes shut. "Right."

"Troy, I'm not great at Winger speeches. But... it seems like you sent on this trip expecting to have a big revelation about yourself. And you feel disappointed because you didn't find the grander meaning you were searching for, at great personal cost. Maybe... it's easier to find meaning when you're not looking so hard for it. You probably shouldn't be so hard on yourself that you didn't have a big revelation." He paused. "Did you get anything out of the last six years? New experiences, new skills, new friends?"

Troy took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Then you're not a failure. Don't be an idiot."

Troy laughed, then hiccuped. "I think that's how Jeff secretly ended a lot of his speeches, to be honest."

Troy opened his eyes and simultaneously realized that Abed's thumb had been drawing small, soothing circles on his back. Abed pulled away when he opened his eyes though.

"I feel like an idiot though. You shouldn't have to comfort me about this," continued Troy

Abed tilted his head. "I don't really think that's how it works. You don't get allotments of emotional attention depending on your actions."

Troy smiled wanly. "Maybe you're too generous with me."

"Maybe." Abed checked his phone, his face eerily illuminated by the blue light. "It's late. I should go if I'm going to get the metro back."

"You could stay."

Troy blurted out the words before he processed them fully. On the one hand, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world, since they'd shared a bunk bed for three years. On the other hand, it felt like there was still a chasm of unprocessed feelings between them. A slightly smaller chasm, but there was no reason to think Abed had forgiven Troy so quickly.

The pause stretched out until Troy could start to hear his offer ringing repeatedly in his head like a mantra of cringe.

"Sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who's been commenting!! You guys make writing so much more fun :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note: mention of past character death for a very minor character. It's a very very brief reference but I thought I should tag to be safe <3

Troy and Abed stayed up a while later playing Pacman, watching SNL clips on Abed's phone, and continuing to snack on the leftover food (Abed had ordered enough food for a small army). As the hours slid by and Troy started yawning, he realized they would have to do the awkward dance of who's-sleeping-where. They both went into his room, which had a queen bed underneath skylight windows.

"Here, you can borrow my pajamas."

A moment later, Abed came out of the bathroom in his t-shirt and Troy's pajama pants, skinny jeans folded over his arm. The two men were roughly similar in size, but the pants were a little bit too short for Abed. They hung loosely around his hips and left a few inches of calf exposed. Troy swallowed around the sudden realization that he liked it.

They both looked at the bed.

"I can take the couch," Troy said gallantly.

Abed looked dubiously toward the living room, which held Troy's angular modern couch.

"I can't put you out like that. That couch didn't exactly look comfortable for sleeping."

"Okay, so maybe I'm not, like, super pumped to sleep there, but I have to be a gentleman here. You're my guest, I offered to let you stay, you're taking the bed. Period."

"I didn't have to stay. You shouldn't have to give up your bed."

"It's no big deal," insisted Troy.

Abed shrugged and flopped onto the bed. "Okay."

"Goodnight, Abed."

"Goodnight, Troy."

Troy padded back to the living room with a pillow and blanket, and tried to get comfortable on the couch. He really was very tired.

It was basically a lost cause. The couch was too narrow, plus his feet were dangling off the edge unless he curled up, which he didn't really have room to do. He kept bonking his head on the couch's arm, and something was somehow perpetually digging into his back.

After thirty minutes of thrashing, Troy accidentally wiggled himself off the couch and onto the floor. He groaned and sat up, leaning against the couch. "Traitor," he mumbled vengefully at it.

Things were so different with Abed. They used to be totally in synch, and now it was like they were strangers, doing awkward meaningless politeness rituals. Sure, they'd never shared a bed side by side, but back in the day it wouldn't have been a big deal? Probably? They'd shared a bunk bed for years.

Troy decided to give it another go at the couch. He lay down and decided to be aggressively still, which lasted about five seconds. What the fuck was digging into his back?!

After another restless thirty minutes, a rectangle of light fell on the floor. Abed was silhouetted in the doorway.

"This is ridiculous. Just come to bed."

It was nearly 3am, and Troy was out of arguments. He scooped up the pillow and came back to bed.

Abed slipped under the covers on the left side of the bed, so Troy took the other side. The bed was big enough that they didn't have to touch at all, but Troy was hyper aware of Abed's breathing and body heat.

"Thanks," he whispered. He laughed softly. "Why am I whispering?"

"It's the dark. It's sleepover vibes."

"Holy shit, you're totally right. It makes it feel different. I wonder why?"

Abed huffed. "I have no idea."

"It makes me feel like we should play 20 questions or something."

Abed huffed again, and Troy realized he was laughing. "Okay, shoot."

"Uhh, how did you and Megan meet?"

"We were working on the same tv show."

"How did-"

"One question at a time, Troy. It's my turn. What's the craziest food you've ever eaten?"

"Hm. There was this weird salty licorice I had in Norway. It was pretty nasty. But then good? But then nasty again. I'm pretty sure it was poison. Okay, my turn. How did you and Megan become roommates?"

"We were friends, and she needed a roommate to help handle the rent. Her apartment in Chinatown was her grandmother's but it's not rent controlled. I'm really lucky that I got to move in when I did." Abed paused. "Can I ask a kind of tense question?"

Troy swallowed. "That's the point of the game, right? But yes. I feel like we're past that point, right? You can ask me anything, any time."

"Why did you really stop using the internet?"

"I told you why."

"Yes but it doesn't make sense. You love the internet. You love Twitter and YouTube and streaming movies and looking up weird recipes. It doesn't make sense that you would just stop."

"I had to stop, when I was on the boat."

"Right, but you're telling me you didn't want to check Twitter the moment you were back? It doesn't make sense."

Troy closed his eyes. "I told you, it helps me make connections with people."

"No it doesn't. If it did you would have-"

Abed cut himself off, but Troy could hear the rest of the sentence as though he'd said it crystal clear. You would have contacted me sooner. Troy rolled over to look at him. Abed was staring straight at the ceiling, with his hands balled into fists.

"Okay. Okay," said Troy softly. "You deserve a better explanation. More than anyone." He sighed deeply. "My dad died."

Abed looked at him. "I'm sorr-"

"He died while I was on the boat. I had no idea until I got back. My mom was devastated that I wasn't around, and my siblings barely talk to me."

"Troy," said Abed quietly.

"He was - he wasn't a great father, and he was a shitty Jehovah's Witness. I mean, he divorced my mother for a girl my age. But he took some parts of the faith really seriously, including limiting his intake of media."

"No internet?"

Troy nodded into the dark. "No internet." He sighed again. "I know it probably sounds really dumb, but I wanted to, like, honor him in some way. Because I left knowing he was sick, and I wasn't there for him or the rest of my family."

"I'm sorry."

Troy smiled sadly. "The other stuff is true too, it's just, like, easier for most people to process that I'm trying to make hippie connections 90s-style. It sounds super downer to be like, oh, I'm imitating my terrible Jehovah's Witness dad because I feel guilty that I wasn't there for his death. People don't know what to say to that."

"To be totally honest, I don't know what to say to that. Just, I'm sorry that that happened to you. I don't understand, because I don't think anything could make me give up tv, but I think I kind of understand. Maybe."

"Thanks, Abed."

"I'm sorry I pushed you to explain."

"No, that was fair. You of all people deserve a good explanation."

"I - can I tell you something?"

"Go for it."

"I was really hurt when you told me you didn't use the internet anymore. I don't even know why it hurt that badly. I should have been kinda happy, since it partially explained why I hadn't heard from you for so long. I guess it just felt like you were rejecting all the things we used to love doing together, like watching movies. It felt like you were rejecting me."

Troy fully rolled over to face Abed. "Abed. No. That is not what I meant at all."

"I know. I mean, I guess I know now."

"Hey. Let's watch your show tomorrow, okay? Cool Girl, right? Let's watch it."

"Cool. Cool cool cool."

Troy smiled to himself. It felt like there was a weight off his chest.

Just as he was starting to drift off to sleep, Abed spoke.

"So you talked to your family when you got back? You contacted them and stuff?"

Troy blinked blearily at him. "Uh, yeah. Of course. I was in Colorado for a few weeks. I mean, my mom would have called in the National Guard if I hadn't checked in."

There was a long silence.

Troy braced himself. "If you have something to say, just say it. I don't want any more secrets between us, man."

Abed's words were short and clipped. "Why didn't you contact me? I know you weren't using the internet, but why didn't you try harder?"

"Well, when you didn't respond to my letter, I just figured you didn't want to see me anymore."

There was another pause, then Abed sat bolt upright in bed.

"What? What is it?" asked Troy.

"Letter?" said Abed, bordering on frantic. "I didn't get a letter. I didn't get a letter."

Troy's eyes widened, and he started to sit up too. "Oh, shit. I - I definitely sent one."

"When? To where?"

"Right when I got back. I guess it must have been about four years ago now? To our old apartment address."

Abed hopped out of bed and started pacing. "I didn't get it," he said tersely. "I had already moved by then. To LA."

"Fuck," said Troy. "They didn't forward it?"

"Not successfully!"

"Fuck. It must have been that fucking landlord. That son of a bitch had it in for us ever since we busted him for stealing all those women's shoes."

"And our DVD."

"Oh, that was definitely Annie. But I did send you a letter."

"So you didn't... hate me?"

Troy grabbed Abed's arm, stopping his pacing. "Abed. I could never hate you. And of course I tried to get in touch, man. You're my best friend."

Abed breathed out a very long breath. "I'm kinda mad."

"I don't blame you."

"I'm mad that we could have been talking for four years."

"It's still my fault. I could have tried harder." Troy felt tears pricking the corners of his eyes. "I just thought... when you didn't write back," he trailed off helplessly.

Abed flopped heavily onto the bed, leaning his head against Troy's shouler. "Shh. It's okay. We're here now. Let's go the fuck to sleep."


	6. Chapter 6

Abed woke to bright sunlight filtering through the blinds. The light was turning the whole room a ridiculously pretty golden color. It would be great for golden hour shooting. Abed really wished he had his polaroid.

He looked over at Troy, who was still asleep. He looked totally blissed out, all the tension faded from his face. He was lying on his stomach and hugging his pillow. It was cute.

Troy's sheets were soft. It was Sunday, and Abed was perfectly content to lie there and gaze absentmindedly at Troy.

His beard looked scratchy. Abed wondered if it would be scratchy, or if it was softer than it seemed. He had to repress the urge to reach out and run his hand over Troy's face.

Troy's eyes fluttered open. He looked at Abed blearily for a moment, then smiled slowly. His dark eyes turned into pools of honey in the sunlight.

"Hey." Troy's voice was rough with sleep. He sat up, rubbing his face. "How long were you watching me?"

Abed blinked quickly. "I wasn't-"

"I know." He gave Abed a small smirk. "Don't worry about it."

And weirdly, Abed believed him. He believed that Troy didn't think he was bizarre, and that he didn't have to hide his weirdness with him. He believed it all over again.

He was probably an idiot.

Troy looked at Abed for a long moment, that knowing smile still playing over his face. Then he slid out of bed. "I'll make coffee."

Abed followed Troy to the kitchen. There was a long onyx black countertop, so Abed hopped up on it to swing his legs like a girl in a movie. Troy made coffee in a French press. It smelled amazing.

When Troy leaned over the counter to hand Abed a mug, he felt like he was in a weird daydream. Or an indie movie. Troy's shirt was clinging to his broad back.

"Thanks." He took a sip, then looked at the mug. "Y-you kept it?"

Troy grinned. "Of course I kept it, man."

It was a green and white mug with their faces on it. One of the Troy and Abed In the Morning mugs.

"I still have mine too. It's at home."

"Yeah, it's too bad we only have one right now. I'll just have to use this unbeliavably stupid blue one instead." He raised it hopefully.

"Troy and Abed in the morning~" they singsonged in unison.

"That show was awesome." Troy gazed into middle distance. "Oh shit, your show! We were going to watch your show."

Abed hopped off the counter. "You still want to? I can set it up on your tv."

"Of course. Are you, uh, still into sugary cereals? Because I have chocolate frosted sugar bombs."

"Yes. Yes. All of that," said Abed, going into the living room and turning on the remote.

As they settled onto the couch with their cereal, Abed was relieved to note that it felt like regular Troy and Abed. The indie movie moment was gone.

They watched Cool Girl all day. They somehow managed to marathon through the first two seasons, with help from cold takeout and more coffee, and a few breaks to play Pacman.

Abed tried not to watch Troy's face the whole time, but he couldn't help it. He'd seen the show - he'd written the show. He was just trying really hard to gauge Troy's reactions to everything.

He really wanted Troy to like his show.

Troy's face was a kaleidoscope of emotions when he watched tv. He laughed at the jokes, was solemn at the appropriate moments, and watched raptly the rest of the time. Abed felt a special thrill every time Troy laughed at one of the jokes he'd written himself.

By the time they finished season 2, it was dark outside again and the city lights were glowing outside Troy's window.

"So... did you like it?" asked Abed, nervously playing with the hem of his shirt.

Troy grinned. "Abed. That was awesome! I loved it."

Abed smiled. "Cool."

Troy stretched, groaning. "Shit. It's late again. We were really watching all day?"

"Yep."

"Uh, do you want to stay the night again?"

Abed paused. "Sure. I have work tomorrow though."

"Oh, you don't have to. Just-"

"No, it's - I want to. I just have to leave in the morning."

Troy lent Abed another pair of pajamas, and this time they both settled into Troy's bed without argument.

"Goodnight, Abed."

"Goodnight, Troy."


	7. Chapter 7

Abed was barely on time for work. Megan kept trying to make eye contact with him throughout their team's morning storyboarding session, but they didn't get a chance to talk until their lunch break.

"So?" she demanded as they started walking to their usual taco truck down the block from the studio.

"So what?" asked Abed cheekily.

She punched his arm. "Details, man! What happened? You go over to Troy's, I don't hear from you for two days, and you're wearing the same clothes you were when you left."

Abed smiled. "If you're implying we had sex, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Megan squinted at him. "Hmm. Okay, so you didn't have sex."

"You don't believe me."

"I mean, I kind of assumed that's what happened? You met up with your old best friend, who is fiiine by the way so nice going if you did tap that, and spend two nights at his place without having time to text your roomie and true best friend?"

"I'm sorry I didn't text. We were just talking a lot. We had a lot to catch up on."

She pursed her lips judiciously. "Okay, got it." She hesitated. "Can I ask... is it like that with you guys? I mean, I believe you that your weekend wasn't an epic boink fest, but, like, is he into guys?"

"I don't think he's into guys. And no, it's never been like that with us."

"Okay."

Abed could sense that she was still sneaking analytical glances at him.

"What is it?"

Megan bit the inside of her cheek. "It's just... I've never seen you this excited about anyone you've dated, guy or girl. This guy comes back into town and suddenly it's like... you're super excited to see him. It's cute. But I'm a little worried, tbh."

Something twisted unpleasantly in Abed's stomach. "That's just what our friendship is like."

"Abed, do you have a crush on him?"

"No," he said brusquely. He checked his phone. "We should get back to the studio. Paolo will be pissed if we're late." He started walking quickly.

"Abed, wait!"

Megan was much shorter than Abed, so it took her a second to catch him. He slowed guiltily.

"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you by asking that. I totally believe you. I've just seen people get hurt by these kind of things before. Hell, I had a brutal crush on a straight friend, not that her ego needs to know that. But if you say it's not like that with Troy, then it's not like that."

Abed shrugged. "Don't worry about it. People used to think we were a couple all the time in college. It doesn't bother me. It's just that I don't think of Troy that way and it's kinda weird to even consider. There's a friend box, and there's a romance box, and he's in the friend box."

"I get it. Like, Stone is my best friend, but I'm really glad we just had upfront romantic intentions towards each other from when we first met. Trying to move into it later can be messy."

"Yeah. I only date people I decided right away to date. Maybe that makes me weird, but I can't read social cues all that well, so if I start looking for romantic cues in all my friendships I'll get - hurt."

"Oh, right." Megan touched his arm. "Sorry for bringing up... that stuff."

"Yeah, no worries."

When he finally got off work, Abed checked his phone. There were a couple of unread texts from Megan from that weekend, and - a missed call from Annie, from only a few minutes ago.

He dialed back immediately, signalling to Megan that she should head out without him.

Annie picked up after one ring. "Abed!" She sounded a bit frantic.

"Annie? Is everything okay?"

There were weird traffic noises in the background. "Uh, yeah! I mean, yes and no."

She got cut off by a crinkling noise, but it sounded like she mumbled "huge mistake."

"Annie. What's happening? Where are you?"

"The good news is, surprise! I came to visit you!"

"What?"

"I'm in LA! I came to visit! If that's cool, I mean. I can totally go to a hotel, if, uh-"

"Oh, you mean you're like actually here? In LA?"

"At LAX, yep! Is it cool if I uber to your place? Oh, shit - I mean, I don't even know if you're home."

"I'm not, but I will be in fifteen minutes. Meet you there?"

"Yep! Oh my gosh, thanks so much, Abed."

She hung up, leaving Abed to stare at his phone in concerned confusion.

Annie had visited him once in LA, a few years back, but it was very out of character for her to just... show up. Something had to be wrong. But she seemed cheerful, if slightly manic, so hopefully it wasn't too dire.

Abed picked up his walking pace to get back home, just in case.

Annie got to his apartment shortly after he did. She gave him a big smile and threw her arms around him. "Abed! It's so good to see you! And thanks so much for, like, letting me randomly crash here. I can leave tomorrow if you want."

"Stay however long you want. Uh, if it's cool with Megan." He looked over to where his roomate was making tea in the kitchen.

She gave a thumbs up. "Cool with me. Hey, Annie."

"Hi Megan! Oh my god, I'm so sorry again. And thanks. I'm such a mess. Let me get my bag."

Abed insisted on carrying her duffle bag to his room, and took the opportunity to get a closer look at Annie. She was wearing sweatpants and a messy ponytail - not really her usual look. She seemed tired, but she was being bubbly to the point that it was a bit concerning.

"-and then in turned out he was in my seat, not the other away around! Isn't that funny?"

"Yeah. Hey, um, do you want to sit down and maybe talk about your sudden decision to come to LA? I'm happy you're here, but I'm a little worried. Last time you planned it two months in advance and sent me a million reminder texts." He paused. "Don't you have a conference in Berlin soon?"

"Shit. That's, uh, not until next week." Annie sat down heavily on the bed. "I'm sorry for crashing like this. I know it's unbelievably rude."

"Don't even worry about that. I'm just kinda concerned that this is out of character." Abed sat next to her and gingerly touched her arm. "It's okay."

For some reason, that was what broke the flood gates. Tears started welling in her eyes. "I think I just made a huge mistake."


	8. Chapter 8

Abed stroked Annie's shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing manner. "Hey, hey. It's okay," he said gently.

He was using the same tactics people used to soothe skittish horses in movies, but it seemed to do the trick. Annie took a deep shuddering breath.

"Is it okay? I don't know." More tears flowed down her cheeks.

"So," said Abed, attempting to work through the story backward, "you flew in from DC today."

She shook her head slowly. "Not DC. Denver."

Abed's eyebrows went up. "You were in Denver?"

"Yeah. Um, I got some time off to prep for my conference, but I'm already pretty much ready so I decided to go home for a quick visit. You know, see Anthony, see Jeff, brag to my parents about getting a promotion."

"Did something happen with your family?"

"No. I mean, my mom was passive aggressive as usual, but not too bad. They're proud of me now."

"You definitely got the promotion, then?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to text the group chat right away in case it sounded like I was gloating, I mean, I wanted to tell everyone next time we did a call."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks." She gave him a watery smile.

"Is it work? Are you stressed?"

"No. Well, maybe. I'm kind of always stressed about work, so maybe it's part of it. But not directly. I'm happy about my promotion. I don't have to be based in DC anymore, I can basically move wherever I want, when I'm not traveling for work."

"That's cool."

"Yeah. Um, actually, I didn't just go to Denver to see my family. I was kind of thinking about moving back there."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I miss... people there. I know we can't go back to the old study group, obviously, but... yeah. It's home to me."

"Did you end up seeing Jeff and Britta?"

"Yes," said Annie, very quietly. "That's the problem."

Abed thought frantically back to Annie and Jeff's flirtation in college. "Did something happen with Jeff?"

"No! Jeff was fine. He's normal. He and Amber - yeah. All good there."

"So... something happened with Britta."

Annie sobbed and buried her face in Abed's shoulder. "I messed up so bad, Abed."

"Hey. Hey. It can't be that bad. Whatever it is, Britta will forgive you."

Annie mumbled something into Abed's shoulder.

"What?"

She pulled back slightly. "That's not really what I'm worried about. I'm just - angry and embarrassed and - fuck."

Abed tried to think what Annie and Britta possibly could have argued about. It didn't seem likely that Annie would be this upset over one of their debates, though.

"What happened?"

Annie sighed deeply. "It all started with - well, she's dating Rick again, as you know. He claims to have changed but he's still as sleazy as ever. Did you know he's an Instagram influencer now? Ugh. It's just so frustrating that she's giving him another chance. She always picks these skeevy guys who treat her like crap!"

"... And you told her that."

"Yep. We went out to fro yo and she insisted on taking Rick, and he wouldn't stop trying to sell me almond face moisturizer, and I kinda... snapped. When we got back to her place I told her she needs to stop going out with these terrible guys."

"Oh."

"That's not the worst part." She swallowed. "I kind of, um, kissed her."

"What?"

"I kissed her. On the mouth."

"Oh. Wow."

"We were arguing and she was getting all in my face about how it's her life and she doesn't need a commitment from Rick anyway and blah blah blah, and I kind of just kissed her."

"Wow. That's a lot to process."

Annie snorted. "Trust me, it's a lot for me to process too."

"Do you like her?"

"I - I guess? I didn't even know until then. She just kind of let me kiss her, and we were both like - shocked afterwards."

"Did you say anything else?"

"Uhh, just that I've had a crush on her since college and I don't know why she's so hard on herself when she's amazing and I would treat her right."

"Oh wow."

"I know."

"... Is it true?"

She covered her face with her hands. "I don't know!"

Abed rubbed her shoulder, but he couldn't hold in his curiosity. "What did she say?"

"She didn't really say anything. I kind of... ran away."

"Ran away like...?"

"Yeah, like I ran out of her apartment and got on a plane to LA."

"Well, shit."

"Yeah. Um. It's basically a mess."

Abed considered this. "It's not that bad."

Annie snorted again.

"I'm serious, it's not that bad. You're here now, so you can take a couple days to sort out your feelings before you have to go to your conference."

Annie made a wailing noise, and Abed worried that he'd said the wrong thing until she threw her arms around him. "You're so amazing, Abed. Thanks for - you know. Being here."

Abed patted her back. "Hey. It's okay. That's what friends do."

Annie pulled back, smiling ruefully and wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "I guess I'd better stop crying so much, huh?"

"It's okay, really." Abed handed her a tissue box.

Annie wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath, then smiled. "So! Should we do something fun while I'm here? Hit the town?"

Abed suddenly remembered. "Actually, I have something to tell you, too."

"Ooh, what is it?"

"Troy is here."

She stared blankly at him for a moment. "What? Like, here here?"

"In LA, yeah."

Her jaw dropped. "Oh my god!" she squealed. "Seriously?! How long?"

"Just a couple of weeks. I guess he just came back to the US. He was traveling that whole time."

Annie's expression shifted from joy to something more skeptical. "It's so weird that we haven't heard from him all this time. No texts or anything."

"Yeah, he doesn't have a cell phone anymore apparently, or social media. I don't get it either," Abed shrugged.

"Damn. It's so crazy that he's back." She looked avidly at Abed. "So, you've been talking? How is he?"

"Yeah, we literally ran into each other on the street a few weeks ago. We've been hanging out a little bit." Abed paused. "It's weird that he picked LA. I still don't really get why he's here."

Annie bit her lip. "Don't you? I mean... of course he came back to see you. That's the only thing that would make sense."

Abed shook his head. "I don't know."

"That's just your Troy and Abed thing, right? You find each other."

Abed felt an uncomfortable twinge in his chest. "I don't know," he repeated. "Things are - fine. Between us. Almost normal, like they used to be. He didn't come back for me."

Annie raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"He didn't," insisted Abed.

"Sure, okay."

"He hasn't reached out to the rest of the group?"

Annie shook her head. "No, definitely not me. I don't know about the others, but no one's said anything."

"Yeah, makes sense. He's kind of off the grid now."

"Huh. So, do you think I can see him while I'm here?"

"Yeah, definitely. I'll call him."

Abed hesitated with his hand on his phone.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"What?"

"How did you know that you liked Britta as more than a friend?"

Annie sighed thoughtfully. "I don't really know. I still don't know how I feel about her, really. I kissed her in the heat of the moment."

"Right."

"But if I'm being totally honest... we haven't exactly had the most normal friendship, have we? She's just always had this way of getting under my skin that not many people have. She challenges me. And I just can't help noticing how pretty she is all the time. My jealousy of her in college was... not very hetero, in retrospect." She smiled sadly. "I don't know if that helps."

"It - yeah. I get it." Abed put in Troy's number and switched the mode to speaker phone.

"Hey Abed!" came Troy's voice.

"Troy!" called Annie, grinning.

"Annie?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience with the long break, I was finishing my degree! Next chapter will probably be from Annie's POV >:3


End file.
